So much for new starts.

The Western Athletic Conference season started the same way the last one ended for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team. With a frustrating loss to Boise State.

The Broncos defeated the Rainbow Warriors, 70-58, last night in the WAC opener for both teams.

A "White Out" crowd of 4,650 — the largest of the season — at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Hawai'i drop to 8-5 overall. Boise State, the defending WAC champion, improved to 10-3.

"It's disheartening we didn't get the win," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "We had a great crowd here and I thought our effort was good enough, but we just made too many mental errors down the stretch."

Indeed, the game was closer than the final score indicated.

Hawai'i trailed by just two points with four minutes remaining, but the Broncos ended the game with a 12-2 run.

The 'Bows trailed by as many as 11 early in the second half, then rallied to tie the score at 51. But the only time Hawai'i held a lead was early in the game.

"That was so frustrating," Hawai'i junior Roderick Flemings said. "But I just tried to keep a level head so we could keep trying to come back. It just didn't work out tonight."

Flemings finished with a game-high 21 points, despite getting double-teamed for most of the game. Petras Balocka added 12 points and 12 rebounds for the 'Bows.

However, Hawai'i shot just 35.7 percent from the field and had its worst night at the free-throw line, going 5 of 10.

Prior to last night, the 'Bows were averaging 30 free-throw attempts per game (and 22.3 made free throws per game).

"The referees called the game the way they saw it," Nash said. "Obviously, they let a lot of physical contact go on at both ends, so we can't argue with that."

The Broncos went 7 of 9 on free throws.

Flemings, who had a WAC-leading 98 free-throw attempts entering last night, went 3 of 4 from the line.

"I have to get used to the WAC referees, they really didn't call a lot of fouls," Flemings said. "They were letting a lot ride tonight, both ways. It was just a physical game."

The Broncos took advantage by utilizing their low-post players — 6-foot-9, 260-pound center Kurt Cunningham and 6-7, 235-pound forward Mark Sanchez.

Cunningham finished with 14 points, most coming on point-blank shots after catching passes near the basket. Sanchez finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

"They shot the ball extremely well," Nash said. "They had good interior passing when they needed it. As a result, they got baskets when they wanted in rhythm."

Boise State shot 50 percent from the field for the game, including 56 percent in the first half. The Broncos led by as many as 11 in the first half and took a 35-29 lead at intermission.

"That first half helped us a lot," said Boise State point guard Anthony Thomas, who finished with 11 points and eight assists. "We knew it was going to be a back-and-forth game, so getting a good lead like that early was big."

Hawai'i point guard Kareem Nitoto came off the bench in the second half to spark a rally. He had two steals and two assists during a crucial stretch when the 'Bows cut their deficit to 45-44.

But after tying the score at 51 on a 3-pointer by Adhar Mayen with 9:24 remaining, the 'Bows committed five turnovers.

"(Boise State's) defense was OK, but mostly it was us," said Nitoto, who finished with four points and six assists. "Sometimes we weren't going to the basket hard enough, or we just came up short on jump shots."

Said Boise State head coach Greg Graham: "I thought we did a very good job defensively down the stretch. We put up the zone and they had trouble with it (and) we started doubling down on Flemings."

It was Boise State's fourth consecutive victory over Hawai'i, including three last season.

"I think last year we learned how to win over here," Thomas said. "Hawai'i is a good team. We knew they were going to make runs at us and get the crowd in it. We knew we just had to keep our composure."